Terminal crimping tool



June 20, 1967 C. W. CANDIOTTI ETAL TERMINAL CRIMPING TOOL Filed Feb. 5,1965 INVENTORS CLEMENCE N. BUTTS CHARLES W. CANDIOTTI ZMQMQM ATTCRNEYSUnited States Patent 3,32o,031 TERMlNAL CRIMPIN G TOOL Charles W.Candiotti, Garden City, N.Y., and Clemence N. Butts, Blufiton, Ind,assignors to Car-Venience Parts Manufacturing, Inc, Bluifton, Ind., acorporation of Indiana Filed Feb. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 430,380 9 Claims.(C. 72-412) The present invention relates to a terminal crimping tool,and more particularly to a hand tool by which conventional solderlessterminals can be conductively secured to conductors with relative ease.

The primary purpose of this invention is to provide a simple andrelatively inexpensive hand tool by which conventional solderlessterminals, of varying sizes, can be crimped and thereby secured toconductors with relative ease.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved terminalcrimping hand tool by which terminals varying from gauge to 22 gauge canbe crimped in a manner permanently insuring a conductive contact betweenthe conductor and the terminal to which it is secured.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improvedterminal crimping hand tool which is easy to use and inexpensive tomanufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hand tool comprisingtwo parts which are identical, and therefore, interchangeable, by whichconventional solderless terminals can be crimped in a manner insuring apermanent conductive contact between the terminal and the conductor towhich it is secured.

Still further an object of this invention is to provide an improvedterminal crimping hand tool having a gauge thereon which indicates theproper distance a conductor should be stripped for the attachment of aconventional terminal.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention andthe manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the inventionitself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptionof an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one of the identical parts comprising theimproved tool of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a side edge view of the part illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary and cross-sectional view of both parts of thetool of this invention, illustrating one of the parts secured to a pieceof soft wood and the other part of the tool placed in operating relationthereto and with a conventional solderless terminal positioned betweenthe two parts in the position that a terminal can be crimped topermanently and conductively secure the terminal to a conductor; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the block of wood, illustrated inFIG. 3, with one part of the tool of this invention secured thereto,illustrating the use of the wire-stripping gauge thereon.

In the broader aspects of this invention there is provided a pair ofidentical plates having a pair of spacedapart openings therein, a meansfor securing the plates to a support, and adjacent one of the ends ofthe plates -a pair of leg portions with an edge extending therebetween.

The leg portions of either one of the plates are adapted to fit into theopenings of the other of the plates and means are provided by which thetwo plates can be forc- 3 ,3 25,03 l Patented June 20, 1967 ibly urgedtogether thereby to crimp terminals between the edge of the one plateand the surface of the other plate.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated an improved terminalcrimping hand tool generally comprising two identical parts which aregenerally indicated by the reference numerals 10. Each of the parts 10is made of sheet material, preferably metal, which will retain its shapeduring the use of the tool as will be later described. Preferably, bothparts 10 of the tool are made from 12- gauge cold rolled steel sheet;however, other materials having similar properties would also besatisfactory. Both parts 10 comprise a sheet of material generallyrectangular in shape having longitudinal, straight and parallel edges12, 14 and opposite, lateral, straight and parallel end edges 16, d8which are perpendicular to edges 12, 14.

Edges 12, 14 are parallel to a longitudinal axis 20 on which tworectangularly shaped openings 22, 24 are positioned. Openings 22, 24 areidentical in size and are positioned coaxially with the part 10 and inend-to-end and spaced-apart relationship. Adjacent opposite corners ofthe part 10 are positioned a second pair of openings 26, 28, which arecircular in shape and which are used for securing one of the parts 10 toa support as will be described herein-after.

Communicating with edge 18 is a notch 30 which is defined by oppositeedges 32, 34 of part 10 which are parallel to each other and parallel tolongitudinal edges 12, 14, and an edge 36 of part 10 extending betweenedges 32, 34. Edge 36 is curved about a center of curvature located onthe axis 20. Edges 32, 34 and edges 12, I14 define parallel leg portions40, 42. At end edge 16 there is provided an anvil surface 44 which isused to receive a force 46, indicated by the arrow illustrated in FIG.3, which will be described hereinafter.

Openings 22, 24 have dimensions slightly larger than leg portions 40, 42and are spaced-apart generally a distance corresponding to the distancebetween leg portions 40, 42, thereby being adapted to receive legportions therein as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Each part 10, as described, also has two oppositely facing fiat surfaces47, 48 on one of which there is placed indicia 50 comprising a lineextending longitudinally of the part 10 and parallel to the axis 20 andedges 12, 14. As illustrated, indicia 50 is closer to edge 14 than edge12; however, the indicia 50 could be placed on surfaces 47, 48 so thatthe opposite would be true. Indicia 50, in both cases, is positioned adistance A away from its closest edge, edge 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1,corresponding to the length of bare wire needed to properly attach aterminal to a conductor.

The specific embodiment illustrated is an embodiment of the tool of thisinvention designed to be used on terminals ranging in size from 10 to 22gauge. It will be obvious that the tool of this invention can be made indifferent sizes for other size terminals. In the drawings, the figuresare made to scale and the specific embodiment illustrated preferably hasthe following dimensions. Plate 10 measures one and seven-eighths inchesin length, seven-eighths inch in width, has a thickness equal to thethickness of IZ-gauge cold rolled steel of approximately 0.017 inch. Legportions 40, 42 have a rectangular crosssection measuring one-quarterinch in length and a width equal to the thickness of 12 -gauge coldrolled steel. Leg portions 40, 42 are spaced-apart a distance ofthreeeighths inch measured perpendicularly between edges 32, 34. Edge 36has a radius of five-eighths inch and a center of curvature on axis 20one-eighth inch from end 18 measured toward openings 22, 24. Openings22, 24, as

above-mentioned, have dimensions slightly larger than leg portions 40,42, and are spaced-apart so that leg portions 40, 42 can be insertedtherein. In a specific embodiment the dimensions of openings 22, 24 are0.265 inch in length, 0.02 inch in width, and are spaced-apart adistance measured from adjacent ends of openings 22, 24 of 0.365 inch.Lastly, indicia 50, in the embodiment illustrated, is spaced from edge14 a distance of one-quarter inch.

In operation, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, one of the parts 10, given areference numeral 106; for identification, is secured to the surface ofa piece of wood 52 by means of a pair of screws 54, 56 inserted throughtherespective openings 26, 28. Mounted in this manner, indicia 50 facesupwardly and can be utilized to gauge the correct length of bare wireneeded to secure a terminal to a conductor as shown in FIG. 4. Toprepare a conductor 58 for the attachment ofa terminal, conductor 58 islaid perpendicular to edge 14 of part 1011 and stripped of insulationfrom the end thereof a distance corresponding to the distance A betweenthe indicia 50' and the edge 14 thereby exposing that length of barewire 60. Conductor 58 is then positioned intermediate openings 22, 24with its bare wire 60 inserted into the gripping portion 64 of aconventional solderless terminal 62, as shown in FIG. 4. Then the otherpart 10, given the reference numeral b for identification, is placed inthe position illustrated in FIG. 3 in which the leg portions 40, 42 areinserted into the openings 22, 24 of part 10a and the part 10b isgenerally perpendicular to the part 10a. In this position, the grippingportion 64 of the terminal 62 is positioned directly between theopenings 22, 24 of part 10a and is surrounded by the edges 32, 36, 34 ofpart 10a and one of the surfaces 47, 48 of part 10a which faces surface36 of part 10b. With the parts 10a, 10b of the tool of this inventionthus positioned, the gripping portion 64 of the terminal 62 is crimpedand permanent- ,ly attached to conductor 58 in a manner insuring apermanent conductive contact between the bare wire portion 60 and theterminal 62 by means of supplying a force, diagrammatically indicated bythe arrow 46, to the anvil surface 44 at end 16- thereby urging the part1012 toward the part 10a and the edge 36 toward the respective surface47 or 48 of part 10a, whichever it may be. Gripping portion 64 of theterminal 62 is thus properly crimped and cannot be spread apart therebyto defectively attach terminal 62 to the conductor 58 as the edges 32,34 of part 10a will not permit the terminal portion 64 to spread, andthe surface 36 being curved, urges the opposite tabs 63', 65 of theterminal portion 64 inwardly toward each other. Specifically, the forceindicated by the arrow 46 can be applied to the anvil surface 44 bymeans of a hammer; however, it is obvious that other means for drivingthe part 10]) toward part 10a will be equally satisfactory. When part10b is driven toward part 10a, for the first time after part 10a hasbeen secured to the block of wood 52, the leg portions 40, 42 willsimultaneously form their own holes 68, 70 in the block of wood 52.Thereafter, only a force suflicient to crimp the terminal 62 need beapplied to part 10b as the holes 68, 70 formed therebefore will sufiiceto allow leg portions 40, 42 of part 10b to penetrate the wood 52sufiicient distance to allow the surface .36 of part 10b to app-roachthe surface 47 or 48 of part 10a sufficiently to crimp terminal It canbe readily seen that the tool of this invention can be relativelyinexpensively :made and simply operated. Also, by specifying the properdistance between edges 32, and proper curvature of edge 36, the toolwill crimp terminals such as indicated by the reference numeral 62 inthe proper manner thereby insuring a permanent attachment of terminal 62to a conductor 58.

While there have been described and illustrated above the principles ofthis invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to beclearly understood that this description is made only by way of exampleand not as a limitation to the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A terminal crimping hand tool comprising a pair of identical metalplates each having a rectangular shape, opposite ends, a longitudinalaxis and a pair of openings therein, said openings being generallyrectangular and coaxial with said longitudinal axis, said openings beinglongitudinally spaced-apart from each other and the boundaries of saidplate and in end to end relationship with each other, one of said endsof each of said plates having a notch formed therein, said notch beingbounded by two side edges which are parallel and spacedapart from eachother and from the longitudinal edges of said plate and a third curvedbottom edge extending between said two side edges thereby providing eachof said plates with two parallel leg portions at said one end, said legportions of each of said plates being adapted to fit into said openingsof the other of said plates, each of said plates having an anvil surfaceat the other of said ends.

2. The tool of claim 1 wherein each of said plates has a second pair ofopenings therein, one of said plates being secured to a block of softwood by fastening means in said second pair of openings, and the otherof said plates being positioned generally perpendicular to said oneplate with said leg portions thereof inserted in said first-namedopenings of said other plate whereby solderless terminals can be crimpedbetween said curved edge of said other plate and a surface of said oneplate 3. The tool of claim 1 wherein one of said plates is positionedgenerally perpendicular to the other of said plates with said legportions thereof inserted in said openings of said other plate wherebysolderless terminals can be crimped between said curved edge of saidother plate and a surface of said one plate.

4. The tool of claim 1 further comprising line indicia on one surface ofeach of said plates parallel to said axis and the longitudinal edges ofsaid plates, said indicia being spaced from one of said longitudinaledges a distance equal to the crimped portion of a terminal therebyproviding a gauge for indicating the correct distance a wire should bestripped prior to having a terminal secured thereon.

5. A terminal crimping tool comprising a pair of metal plates, one plateof said pair having a pair of generally rectangular spaced-apartopenings therein aligned in endto-end relation, one of the ends of theother of said plates having a notch formed therewith thereby forming apair of generally parallel leg portions at said one end, said legportions being adapted to fit into said openings, said other platehaving an anvil surface at the other end, whereby solderless terminalscan be crimped between said plates.

6. The tool of claim 5 wherein said one plate has means for securing thesame to a support.

7. A terminal crimping tool comprising a first plate .having a pair ofspaced-apart openings therein, a second plate having opposite ends, apair of leg portions and a curved edge extending therebetween at oneend, and an anvil surface at the other end, said leg portions beingadapted to fit into said openings thereby to crimp terminals betweensaid curved edge and said first plate.

8. A terminal crimping tool comprising a pair of plates each having apair of spaced-apart openings therein aligned in end-to-end relation anda notch formed in one of said ends thereby forming a pair of legport-ions, said leg portions of each one of said pair of plates beingadapted to fit into said openings of the other of said pair, and meansfor driving said leg portions into the respective openings, wherebysolderless terminals can be crimped between said plates.

9. A terminal crimping tool comprising a pair of identical plates eachhaving a pair of spaced-apart openings therein, means for securing saidplate to a support, and

5 6 at one end of said plate a pair of leg portions and a ReferencesCited curved edge extending therebetween, said leg portions of UNITEDSTATES PATENTS each of said plates being adapted to fit into saidopenings of the other of said plates, and means for driving said legportions into the respective openings, thereby to crimp 5 terminalsbetween said curved edge of said one plate CHARLES LANHAM P'lmm'yExammer and the surface of said other plate. R. D. GREFE, AssistantExaminer.

3,245,246 4/1966 Filson 72-412

1. A TERMINAL CRIMPING HAND TOOL COMPRISING A PAIR OF IDENTICAL METALPLATES EACH HAVING A RECTANGULAR SHAPE, OPPOSITE ENDS, A LONGITUDINALAXIS AND A PAIR OF OPENINGS THEREIN, SAID OPENINGS BEING GENERALLYRECTANGULAR AND COAXIAL WITH SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS, SAID OPENINGS BEINGLONGITUDINALLY SPACED-APART FROM EACH OTHER AND THE BOUNDARIES OF SAIDPLATE AND IN END TO END RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER, ONE OF SAID ENDSOF EACH OF SAID PLATES HAVING A NOTCH FORMED THEREIN, SAID NOTCH BEINGBOUNDED BY TWO SIDE EDGES WHICH ARE PARALLEL AND SPACEDAPART FROM EACHOTHER AND FROM THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID PLATE AND A THIRD CURVEDBOTTOM EDGE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID TWO SIDE EDGES THEREBY PROVIDING EACHOF SAID PLATES WITH TWO PARALLEL LEG PORTIONS AT SAID ONE END, SAID LEGPORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID PLATES BEING ADAPTED TO FIT INTO SAID OPENINGSOF THE OTHER OF SAID PLATES, EACH OF SAID PLATES HAVING AN ANVIL SURFACEAT THE OTHER OF SAID ENDS.